Under Comet's Tale: Revenge of the Earth
by Higuchimon
Summary: He's barely been conquering for a week when someone tries to kill him. Not what he expected – or who or how.


**Collection Title:** Under Comet's Tale||**Title:** Revenge of the Earth  
**Characters:** Juudai, Holy Elf, Hane Kuriboh||**Ship:** N/A  
**Collection:** 2-6||**Story:** 1-1||**Words:** 3,113  
**Genre:** Drama||**Rated:** G  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing, GX canon, I24, 1-shot collection centering around 1 person: Juudai  
**Notes:** Again, during Juudai's rule over Dark World.  
**Summary:** He's barely been conquering for a week when someone tries to kill him. Not what he expected – or who or how.

* * *

He hadn't ruled as Haou for more than a week before the first assassination attempt came. He didn't wear his armor then – it came when he willed it more often than it didn't, really. So he usually wore it in battle and nowhere else.

But not every attack came in such a fashion that could be repelled by armor, no matter how magical. And even he didn't wear his armor to dinner.

Juudai's attention barely flicked over the bowl of stew set before him before he started to eat it.

_Tasty,_ he thought vaguely, more of his thoughts turning to the next battle that needed to be fought. In the last handful of days – he called them that even without the sun to mark the time – he'd managed three battles that crushed three villages down into powder.

He thought he was getting the hang of this. Every moment took him farther away from the student that he'd been and into the king he needed to be. Every moment took him farther away from the fool who'd gotten his friends killed and towards being someone whose friends could never be killed, on pain of death.

His army grew day by day. From the remains of the Dark World Monsters who pledged themselves to him onward, so many warriors flocked to his side. He thought vaguely of having someone design a flag. Didn't conquerors have flags?

Another bite; he'd already finished half of the bowl. No one ate anywhere near him. They all gathered a distance away in little knots, talking to one another. He didn't know what they talked about. He couldn't bring himself to care that much, as long as they did what he told them to do. So far they'd all obeyed him. That was all that he asked, that and for them to kill for him.

Warriors weren't the only ones who'd come to his call. Servants of various kinds also joined in, providing for the needs of the army, making meals, cleaning up, and doing all the odds and ends that needing doing. He'd never thought about how much needed doing before this. Now he wondered if this was just the tip of the iceberg of what he hadn't noticed.

Often newcomers presented themselves for his approval, though few did so during mealtimes. Someone moved through the ranks of his warriors, heading directly for him, catching his attention with their fair blue skin and green robes. Holy Elf. He'd never yet seen one in the flesh before. The closer that she grew, the more worries flickered up his spine. What did she want with him?

When she came to within a few steps, he set aside the bowl of stew and tilted his head, waiting to see what she wanted. He didn't want to waste words – if she had something to say, then she could say it.

"Haou-sama," she murmured, her voice soft and stern at the same time. "I am Heather. I have chosen to extend my services to you."

Juudai wasn't certain if he'd heard that correctly. Plenty of warriors wanted to serve him for the chance of glory and to kill people. Most of the servants came in attendance to the warriors, or joined just to survive after he wrecked what had been their homes.

No one had ever showed up and said that they wanted to serve him who wasn't a warrior, especially not someone with healing talents.

"Why?" He let the word fall cold and hard. If she were attempting to deceive him, then he would finish her personally.

Her eyes met his without fear. Juudai didn't remember what it was like to have someone stare at him like that.

"Because you need someone to tend to wounds and injuries and illnesses. You have no one who can do that. I will do it."

Juudai's fingers tightened around themselves. His stomach churned and thoughts darted back and forth without making a great deal of sense. He pressed his lips together.

"Why would you care?" Juudai found more words, each one twisting from the deepest part of his heart. "Wouldn't you prefer it if we all died?"

Who wouldn't, after all? People hated him. Even those he called friends loathed him. If they ever found a way to him again, they would hate him, try to stop him. He wouldn't allow it, of course, but they would try.

Holy Elf didn't shift her gaze away for so much as a breath. "Because it's what I do."

That didn't seem right to Juudai at all. He tried to find another objection, but the thoughts in his head stuck together as they hadn't in days. He'd thought after he began his conquest that everything would be clearer. That he didn't have to worry about anything except succeeding at this.

But now his stomach tightened and he could feel a tiny trace of sweat make its way down his cheek to his neck. He swallowed and tried to focus. It didn't do a lot of good.

"I think you also need my help right now," Holy Elf said, her eyes flicking over to the mostly empty bowl of stew. She rested a finger on the side of it for a few seconds before moving to what remained of the stew. "You've been poisoned."

Her words carried over to the gathered warriors, all of whom clattered to their feet. Juudai tried to get up but his feet couldn't support him and his head kept on spinning, setting the world around him aflame.

"Who did this?" Snoww's voice held a cold edge that cut through the flame for only a few moments. "Who dared to do this?"

"Worry about that when I've saved his life," Heather said, her own voice stern and unyielding. "You and you. Take him to his tent. I'll take care of him there. You, Snoww. I'll need help and you're it."

Juudai could hear all of this but there were no words that wanted to come to his lips. Somewhere along the way he'd closed his eyes – or they'd closed without his conscious decision. Didn't matter. He couldn't see. He could barely feel as his warriors lifted him and carried him away.

This wasn't right. Someone did something that they shouldn't have and he would see to it that they paid for this would their lives. That was what he did – he was Haou. Those who raised a hand against him died.

Part of Juudai remained aware of what happened around him – he'd been carried to the tent and tucked into his bed. He could hear Snoww and Heather talking to one another, but the words remained fuzzed and out of focus, no matter how hard he tried to listen.

So he didn't bother. Perhaps Heather lied and would try to kill him. He had only her word that someone else poisoned him – though the way he felt said very plainly that he'd been poisoned. But if he died, then – then – Juudai didn't want to die. It wouldn't do any good. It wouldn't bring any of them back.

If it had, he might well have thought about dying. But he knew it wouldn't. All he could do was what he'd been doing all along: trying to protect, in any way that he could. If he died, then Shou, O'Brien, and Jim wouldn't be safe anymore.

He didn't listen to Heather and Snoww. He couldn't open his eyes. Every time that he drew a breath, spikes of pain filled his chest and stomach. A spray of sweat covered him from head to foot. Someone wiped it off but it returned soon.

Flashes of heat. Flashes of cold. Every moment the pain deepened and his head spun until he wished it would just fly off and be done with it.

They would _pay_. He didn't know who they were – was – whatever – but they would die and he would make certain that everyone that they loved died as well.

He didn't have anyone who cared about him anymore. Why should anyone else?

Something hovered near him. He wasn't sure of what it was. Had Snoww or Heather left someone there to watch him? Had they stopped talking? Were they somewhere else? Juudai tried to ask, but all that he could drag out of his lips was a pathetic groan.

It wasn't the sound that a conqueror and a king should make. It wasn't even the sort of sound that a _person_ should make.

Whatever this was – whoever – brushed against his hand. Juudai thought that they felt soft. A name fluttered through his mind – Hane Kuriboh? - but it faded before he could get more than the barest grip on the concept.

It didn't matter, really. Whoever this was remained next to him, making soothing noises, and Juudai found a tiny scrap of gratitude in the desolate wastes of his heart. Whoever this was, they were there for him as so few others were now.

A voice broke into his hearing. Whatever it said didn't make a lot of sense – something about hating him. That was fine. Everyone hated him. Juudai thought it would be stranger if someone didn't hate him.

That little floating creature with all the hair and feathers – when had he noticed those? - made a noise of its own and Juudai wondered what had it so upset. Nothing bad had really happened.

Then the voice faded away and Juudai let himself rest. He wasn't all that good at it. The heat and cold and pain meant that he couldn't rest very well. He sweated and tossed and turned, wincing, one hand brushing against something strange and solid and slimy and not liking it.

Whatever this was, he wanted it to go away and tried his best to convey to Hane Kuriboh that it should be disposed of. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that Hane Kuriboh understood him.

Something sharp pressed against his throat. Juudai snarled to himself; how dare someone interrupt when he wanted to rest? He dragged his eyes open, intent on crushing whoever dared to do this, and stared into a face that he'd never seen before.

That didn't surprise him. It would've surprised him more if it had been one that he knew. But someone lurked over him, pressing that sharp edge against his throat, and he couldn't do anything about it.

He did sort of think that he _should_ have recognized who this was. Just the faintest of flickers, not even as strong as what he'd had when he first met Johan. What else – who else – didn't he remember?

The attacker leaned closer and breathed against him, exuding a fragrance that he'd never encountered before. As the aroma entered his lungs, Juudai found his head cleared, even though he still couldn't bring himself to talk and his body refused to move.

"You claim to be an Elemental _Hero_ duelist," the stranger hissed, voice pitched low. "No true hero would act the way that you do. No true hero kills without mercy."

Juudai wanted to laugh. At least he thought he did; he wasn't certain what he wanted to do, really. He couldn't find the strength to make words no matter how much he wanted to.

"I am Elemental Hero Blume. Some call me the Poison Rose."

Juudai's eyes flicked up and down. A helmet of some type kept her spikes of white hair out of her face. Her eyes glowed with raw hatred. Now that he could focus more, the blade pressed to his throat was leaf-shaped, but sharp as the edge of ice.

Green garments wrapped around most of Blume, with a definite design of plants and leaves woven into it. He couldn't see much else than that. But then his attention focused on what they'd said.

An Elemental Hero? One that he didn't play? He knew that he hadn't chosen every single one of them for his deck. There were some he'd never bothered with. But now one of them stood over him with a knife to his throat?

And clearly very, very angry with him.

"You don't have to say anything. There's nothing that I want to hear." Blume's lips pulled back from her teeth in an expression that would never be a smile even if she wanted it to be. "You're going to die, _Haou_. You're going to die in pain and I will enjoy watching it happen."

Juudai would've shaken his head if he could get it to move. Blume leaned in closer. "I poisoned you," she whispered, "with poison of my own devising. Holy Elf will not be able to find a cure in time. You've destroyed far more than you ever should have. I won't allow you to destroy anything else."

The knife moved closer. "I could just stab you now – but I'd rather not dirty my knife with you." She leaned closer, voice so low that Juudai almost didn't hear her. "But the poison will hurt more. What I did allows you to understand me for now. It won't last once I leave here. Even if you could talk, you won't be able to tell anyone anything useful."

A soft laugh echoed from her lips. "I don't think you could say anything useful even if you could. What do you think?"

Juudai didn't know. His thoughts stuck together, words gummed against one another. Blume filled his entire world at the moment. Even the parts of it that didn't have Blume in it seemed filled by something.

The temperature dropped more and more with every moment. Was that the poison or something else altogether? Blume didn't seem to notice anything as she smiled down at him.

"Don't think you can count on those traitors in your deck to help you, either. None of them have what it takes to reverse my poison."

"Perhaps they don't. But you would be surprised at what some of us can do."

Juudai's eyes shifted behind Blume to see Snoww, Magician of Dark World, standing there, her staff pointing directly at Blume. Her lips curved into the quickest of smiles.

"And you might also be surprised at what can be learned from _frozen flowers_."

Blume might have escaped, if she'd had more than a heartbeat to react. But before she could do more than begin to stand up, Snoww's staff flashed forth a blaze of white light, encircling all around Blume and wrapping ice around every bit of her.

Snoww eyed her in disdain before nodding and calling to someone that Juudai couldn't see. Soon enough, the frozen captive had been removed. By then, Juudai's head fuzzed and his thoughts drifted away one more time.

When his eyes opened again, his mind cleared, he found himself in his room in his castle, not in his tent. His eyes narrowed, fingers tightening against the blanket pulled up to his chin. He sat up carefully.

As soon as he did, Hane Kuriboh trilled from one side, bumping against him, before vanishing off somewhere. Juudai stared at the space where he'd been, confused on exactly what was going on.

"Haou-sama, you're awake."

Holy Elf stood in the doorway now, Hane Kuriboh hovering next to her. She smiled as she came closer. He wanted to turn away, but she rested one cool hand on his forehead before he could.

"Much better. Your fever's broken. The remedy worked." Holy Elf nodded in satisfaction. "I'm certain that you have questions."

That didn't even begin to cover it. He scraped around for the words before two made their way out.

"What happened?" At least that should get the answers that he wanted.

"What do you remember?" Holy Elf countered. Juudai considered; there wasn't much. They'd been on campaign. He'd eaten after a day of fighting. Then everything seemed so fuzzy and confused and he couldn't put things together, beyond the fact that Holy Elf had been there somehow.

He said as much to her, and she nodded thoughtfully. "Elemental Hero Blume poisoned you. It appears that she lived in one of those villages you destroyed. She wasn't there at the time and returned home to find everyone she knew dead or worse."

Juudai wondered if he should feel upset about this. He didn't think that he did, but he thought that he should.

"A few of my colleagues helped to create the antidote to the poison. Though I hate to tell you that it's been nearly seven more cycles of the comet since you were poisoned."

Juudai frowned at that. Seven days. Seven days that he'd lost because of this.

"Where is she?" This could not go unpunished. She'd taken time that he would need. She could have taken more than that. Only by luck had she failed.

"In the dungeon. Snoww set guards over her and has kept her frozen ever since. She insisted that it would be your honor to determine Bluse's punishment."

Yes. Yes, it would, without a doubt. Juudai tried to stand up, but Holy Elf didn't allow it, pressing him back down onto the bed.

"You're not all the way recovered yet. The antidote did the job but you're still weak and it will take more time for you to get back on your feet. I'll take care of you until then."

Her gaze was as penetrating as his own. "And then I will take care of your army. You don't object, do you, Haou-sama?"

Juudai wasn't used to people taking his kind of tone with him, especially not since he'd started his reign. His lips twitched in a slight movement that he hardly recognized anymore.

"I appoint you my physician and that of my army," he said at last. "Keep them in top condition."

"That I will. I'll inform you when you're ready to deal with Blume and resume your efforts. It will take time. Hane Kuriboh will remain here with you. If you have any sort of needs, then let him know and he'll pass the word to me."

Hane Kuriboh bumped up against Juudai's side. Juudai wanted to reach out; he vaguely recalled the fuzzy flier being there before Blume showed up. Hane Kuriboh couldn't like what he was doing now, but he didn't say anything about it.

Instead, he tucked himself next to Juudai and encouraged him to get some rest. Juudai closed his eyes. He wanted all of his strength back. Not only did he need to discipline Elemental Hero Blume, but he had so much time to make up for now.

_I might need… assistants. People who can carry on when I'm busy elsewhere._

It was a pleasant, useful thought, and it followed him deep into his dreams.

* * *

**The End**

**Notes:** Oh, the stories I can tell with Blume now! Like, what the heroes of Juudai's deck think of her attempt to murder him. Next week's story will tell a bit more about why they weren't there to help in this. And also what Juudai doe to Blume.


End file.
